Confident Trustee Limited v Garden and Trees
Ltd [2017] NZCA 578
Confident Trustee Limited (CTL) entered into a
contract with Garden and Trees Limited (Garden and
Trees) for Garden and Trees to clear a site prior to
earthworks for a residential subdivision development. CTL claimed
that the work was running behind schedule so it engaged another
contractor to assist, at which point Garden and Trees unilaterally
left the site. This was disputed by Garden and Trees, who claimed
that it was effectively dismissed by CTL.
Garden and Trees sent an invoice to CTL for work carried out
and, when this went unpaid, issued a statutory demand requiring
payment of the outstanding amount. Somewhat surprisingly, in the
High Court Associate Judge Christiansen refused to set aside the
demand, although it was clear there was a factual dispute between
the parties about the circumstances in which the contract came to
an end.
